Deadbolts
Creativity is vital to local bands
Jordan Gruener
Arizona Daily Wildcat, January 28, 1987
Local bands resort to anything to get the music out there, including ghetto blasters, four track recorders at home, or 16 track recorders in studios. Vinyl is too expensive, so it's cassette instead.
Died Orange, the Deadbolts and Thai Pink are just a few of the many Tucson groups who have within the past two months recorded their own tapes and sold them locally...
The Deadbolts recorded their seven song cassette on a four track "to capture the type of sound the Beatles got" said singer/guitarist Tim Scott...
The Deadbolts have reproduced the sound they obtain in concert with accuracy on their self titled, seven song cassette.
Some of the vocals have too much echo, but the solid instrumental sound makes up for the tunnel effect.
Favorites here are "The Well" and the reggae-style "Can't Have Fun."
One disappointment was Tim Scott's "Whatch'ya gonna do", now an archetypal rock song. It was slower and sounded nearly acoustic on an earlier demo tape...
Of Boomers and Deadbolts
Jim Lipson
Tucson Weekly, circa 1987
Releasing an LP and cassette respectively, the Boomers and Deadbolts have proved you need not be a name band to come out with a quality product. Neither of these groups is what you'd call working bands. You'll rarely find then in the listings, and if you do it might be well off the beaten path... But that doesn't mean they can't play. Unable (or unwilling) to compete for the few good stages around town, both bands have opted to record.
What's nice about both of these recordings is they don't pretend to be anything they're not...
The Deadbolts have not so much created something new as much as recreated the past in their own image. Their seven tune self titled cassette might easily pass for an album recorded some 20 years ago. Between the muddied production (intentional? Too much bass), the power chords, raucous guitars, and three minute razor pop melodies, this could easily be vintage '60's stuff - somewhere between the early Kinks and the Standells.
On guitars, Pete Holmes and Tim Scott have done well reminding us how rock was once dominated by the basic two-guitar band and how for years guitar players have overshadowed the equally important rhythm section (bass and drums). With the volume turned up they are always in the foreground, yet their parts are neither indulgent nor inappropriate. Unfortunately, the tape tends to wear on Side 2, as the material - two slower tunes in particular - begins to wear thin. Still, given Side 1's sharp arrangements, guitar work, and material that might well have had hit potential 20 years ago, this tape can take its place alongside recordings by Yard Trauma, the Chesterfield Kings and others that have been making waves in what's come to be known as the psychedelic/garage band revival.
In addition to Holmes and Scott, the Deadbolts are also Erik Merrill on bass and Marvin Germain on drums...
Deadbolts Press Release
circa 1986
Combining musical influences spanning over 20 years, Tucson's Deadbolts are bringing the 60's into the 80's. The power-pop quartet plays a brand of rock-n-roll that is both energetic and highly original. The songs have a melodic edge with both folk and psychedelic overtones. Charaterizing the sound are the chiming vintage guitars of Pete Holmes (Gretsch) and Tim Scott (Rickenbacher) in sync with the tight rhythm section of Erik Merrill (bass) and Marvin Germain (drums). A Deadbolt live performance can be summed up in one word: energy. The members often spend their time airborne, while never missing a beat. So put on your dancing shoes and give Deadbolts a listen. The 60's don't have to be just a memory anymore.